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Commissioner James Williams was found not guilty in criminal court by Chambers County’s new district judge, Terrence Brown on Feb. 24. Williams was charged with third-degree criminal trespassing. The charges against Williams made by land owner Brandon Clifton were found to be not of a criminal nature. 

Williams was represented by Charles Hall. Sworn testimony was taken and upon consideration, the court found Williams not guilty. 

The initial arrest was in response to Clifton’s report of a March 11, 2024 incident. According to Clifton, Williams was cutting a fire line on a nearby property as an employee of the Alabama Forestry Commission when he crossed onto Clifton’s land.

In a bulldozer, Williams “cleared out approximately 150 feet in length and 50 feet in width that goes down to 2 feet,” according to the arrest report. 

Clifton told the Valley Times-News at the time of the arrest that the main reason for the charge was that a survey pin marking his property line had been damaged, which was estimated to cost $5,000 to replace. 

The VT-N previously reported that Clifton waited at the Sheriff’s Office for three hours for the warrant to be signed; however, he was told that the issue was civil, not criminal. From there, he went to the DA’s office. The warrant was eventually signed by Chief Deputy Mike Parrish.

“I think it was just a misunderstanding between myself and Mr. Clifton,” Williams said to the VT-N after the acquittal.

“He got away with destroying my property and there’s no consequences unless I plan to take civil action,” Clifton said to the VT-N following the acquittal. “It’s a sad day in Chambers County when an elected official can damage somebody’s property and get off basically unscathed without them hiring an attorney and taking civil action.”

Clifton said he had a licensed surveyor with the state of Alabama lay the line to prove that Williams went across his property and damaged his property pin before he pressed charges. 

According to Clifton, though Williams stated in court that it was possible he could have crossed onto Clifton’s land, the court argued that because there was no signage, it was a civil matter rather than criminal. 

As for whether Clifton plans to take civil action, he said, “We just have to stay tuned and see where it goes.”

Clifton has been involved in an ongoing dispute with the commissioners over a plot of land purchased in the Buffalo community by the commission. The group has been speaking at commission meetings, requesting a covenant that would state the commission’s intention for the land, specifically that it will not be turned into a landfill. 

Williams was serving as chairman of the commission at the time when the commission voted not to sign the covenant.